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Charitable giving news and events

To ensure we are enabling you to create the most impact with your charitable dollars, we are pleased to announce changes to several of our investment options. As of April 2, 2018, underlying funds in several of Vanguard Charitable’s investment options will undergo a share class conversion resulting in lower fees and potentially greater assets available for charitable giving.

Vanguard Charitable is committed to offering a low-cost, high-value donor advised fund, and holds firm to our belief that low fees allow you to maximize your charitable giving. To ensure we are enabling you to create the most impact with your charitable dollars, we are pleased to announce a reduction in our administrative fee structure. Beginning March 1, 2018, assets between $500,000 and $999,999 will be assessed a 0.35% administrative fee, a 0.05% reduction.

Vanguard Charitable saw remarkable growth throughout 2017, but it was the increase in grantmaking that made the most significant impact. Donors granted nearly $873 million in calendar year 2017, a record a single year and a 28% increase over the previous year. The number of individual grants, meanwhile, increased 25% over the previous year, up to nearly 100,000. In total, Vanguard Charitable donors have granted more than $7.2 billion since our inception.

On December 22, President Trump signed into law a major overhaul of the American tax code. While donor-advised funds are not themselves subject to any new rules or reporting requirements, many Vanguard Charitable donors are likely to find that their charitable giving is affected by the law.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed a uniform tax bill on December 20, in what is considered the first major overhaul of the American tax code since 1986. President Trump signed the legislation into law on December 22.

Tax reform has taken center stage in Washington, with competing bills in the Senate and House of Representatives. With the potential for further revisions in the near future, there is still much that is unknown when it comes to the new tax plan, including whether it will pass yet this year, next, or not at all. Understandably, donors may be wondering how this tax picture could affect their charitable giving.

Vanguard Charitable strives to continually improve our program and provide a simple, cost-effective donor-advised fund for you, our donors. We’ve heard your feedback and as a result, beginning this month, we have started rolling out improvements with the exclusive purpose of helping you meet your philanthropic goals.

As donors consider year-end giving, Vanguard Charitable receives a number of requests to accept individual retirement account (IRA) distributions. While federal law stipulates that donor-advised funds cannot accept these distributions tax-free, Vanguard Charitable does provide an alternative for donors who are interested in supporting disaster relief through this mandatory withdrawal.

Similar to a diversified investment portfolio, many donors allocate their charitable dollars among a mix of giving tools. A diversified approach to giving can optimize tax benefits and create more strategic philanthropy, which is good news for the nonprofits that depend on their support.

Incorporating charitable giving within financial and estate planning and making philanthropy a family matter are among several topics of a recent webcast featuring Vanguard Charitable President Jane Greenfield and other experts.